Mounting for the fixed contacts and the terminals of an electromagnetic relay



Dec. 5, 1961 Filed Feb. 25, 19

MOUNTING FOR 58 TERMINALS OF R. BERNIER THE FIXED CONTACTS AND THE ANELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY 2 heets-Sheet 1 Dec. 5, 1961 R BERNIER 3,012,117MOUNTING FOR THE FIX ED CONTACTS AND THE TERMINALS OF AN ELECTROMAGNETICRELAY Filed Feb. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Rag 1a 6M4 MM United StatesPatent Ofilice 3,012,117 MOUNTING FOR 'IHE FIXED CONTACTS AND THETERMINALS OF AW ELECTRGMAGNETIC RELAY The present invention relates toelectromagnetic relays having a frame carrying a core and a mountingcomprising fixed contacts and relay terminals constituted by tongues ofwhich one part, preferably the central portion, is embedded during themoulding in a block of insulating material.

It is one object of the present invention to provide such anelectromagnetic relay with an improved mounting which can be easily,rapidly, accurately and firmly settled on the frame by an unskilledworker, without recourse to instruments nor additional pieces ofmaterial.

It is another object of the present invention to provide electromagneticrelays wherein the frame is provided with a notch having two paralleledges, and the block of insulating material of the mounting is providedwith two parallel grooves extending throughout two opposite faces ofsaid block and forcibly engaged upon the parallel edges of the notch ofthe frame.

The block of insulating material may have the general form of anelongated parallelepiped and the grooves may be longitudinally ortransversely oriented relative to said block.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present invention will be clearlyunderstood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a relay, the fixed contacts ofwhich and the relay terminals are mounted in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the relay terminals shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are, respectively, front and side elevational views of amodification of the relay; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 4 of the part of the platewhich carries the insulating supporting strips of the terminals.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, the relayframe 1 carries the coil 2 and a movable armature 6 pivoted at 7 on theframe 1. The armature 6 comprises a cranked extension 8 whichco-operates with an abutment 9 integral with the frame 1. A returnspring 11 is'provided for the armature 6.

Moving contacts 12 are integral with an insulating support 13, which isitself mounted on the armature 6.

In the illustrated example, the relay is bipolar and comprises two fixedcontacts 21, two terminals 22 for current supply to the movable contacts12 by flexible cables 23, and two terminals 24, 25 which serve toconduct the current to the relay winding 2. Two other terminals 26 arenot used in the mounting illustrated, but may serve in the numerousother more complex mountings, notably when the relay is installed ininverters. Each of the terminals comprises a metal tongue of which thecentral portion is embedded in a block 27 of insulating material of thegeneral shape of a parallelepiped, forcibly engaged in a notch of therelay frame of which the two edges, forming tenons, are respeca coil,and at least 3,012,117 Patented Dec. 5, 1961 tively engaged in twolongitudinal grooves 28 forming mortices extending over the full lengthof the block on which the two opposed faces perpendicular to thoseacross which the tongues emerge (FIGS. 2 and 3).

In order to avoid the risk of the tongues slipping and coming out of theblocks, their portions which are sunk in the block have a narrow partwhich is shown in broken lines at 29 in FIG. 3.

The extremities of the tongues which project from the relay may servefor the branching of external circuits while their inner extremities mayserve, for example, to carry the contact elements of the fixed contacts(contact element 31 on the tongue 21), for the connection from thewinding (tongues 24, 25), and for the connection of a current supplycable to a movable contact (cable 23 connecting the tongue 22 to themovable contact 12).

Modification disclosed in FIGS. 4 to 6, are the insulating block 40,which support the tongues are fixed on the frame 1' of the relay by oneof their extremities, which is engaged in a notch 41 of the frame 1, thetwo edges of the notch 41 being forcibly engaged in two grooves 42 cuton two opposed faces of this extremity of the block.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, itis to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only andnot in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention beingdetermined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. An electromagnetic relay having a plate constituting a frame carryinga core and a coil, and at least a mounting comprising a plurality offixed contacts and relay terminals constituted by tongues, a block ofinsulating material, one part of said tongues being embedded in saidblock, and said plate being provided on one of its edges with at leastone notch having two parallel edges, and said block having two parallelgrooves extending throughout two opposite faces of said block andforcibly engaged upon said parallel edges of said notch of said frame.

2. The electromagnetic relay, as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidblock of insulating material has the general form of an elongatedparallelepiped and said grooves are disposed longitudinally relative tosaid block.

3. The electromagnetic relay, as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidblock of insulating material has the general form of an elongatedparallelepiped and said grooves are disposed transversely relative tosaid block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,134,945 Howe Nov. 1, 1938 2,397,283 Martin Mar. 26, 1946 2,485,818Dorjee Oct. 25, 1949 2,491,272 Knapp Dec. 13, 1949 2,520,526 BrouwerAug. 29, 1950 2,534,864 Fritts Dec. 19, 1950 2,679,031 'Jaidinger May18, 1954 2,781,501 McCroskey Feb. 12, 1957 2,831,939 Alizon et a1 Apr.22, 1958 2,903,671 Dreher et al. Sept. 8, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 114,796Austria Oct. 23, 1928 476,736 Italy Dec. 22, 1952 998,421 France Jan.18, 1952

